Today Our Daily Bread Lev 19

Romans 16:19-20 For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet
~ Today I’m looking at the "wise" part of this verse. We’ve heard it taught that wisdom is knowledge applied, which simply said, is to put into practice whatever you’ve learned of God. Doing what He has said, rather than taking everything He’s said as a mere suggestion, something you have an option to do or not do. Taking it or leaving it. We think, "We are adults, we can make our own decisions", That is true, we have that freedom, we can even touch a hot iron if we want to, we have that freedom, and in Christ He gives us that freedom, the freedom of the will to decide. BUT wisdom would do what one who knows better says to do. I looked up this word in this context and it was a word about studying to be wise. Its meaning was to apply yourself to getting the information to follow. Not for research, but for life. Like getting a book and reading it to follow all of its directions precisely with the mind to carry out the instructions inside, and to know them well enough to be able to do them all precisely. Do we do that with God’s word? Or do we analyze it and take or leave it? I want you to be wise in what is good- God is good, so wisdom comes from the knowledge obtained for the benefit of following the instructions of His word, the Bible. Take it, don’t leave it. If we leave it we are choosing another source which may not be wise at all and we move over into what I’ll possibly write of tomorrow, not being innocent of evil. There is only one source of good, the rest look good, but are not God-good.
Holiness in Personal Conduct
1The LORD also said to Moses, 2"Say this to the entire community of Israel: You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. 3Each of you must show respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest, for I, the LORD, am your God. 4Do not put your trust in idols or make gods of metal for yourselves. I, the LORD, am your God.
5"When you sacrifice a peace offering to the LORD, offer it properly so it will be accepted on your behalf. 6You must eat it on the same day you offer it or on the next day at the latest. Any leftovers that remain until the third day must be burned. 7If any of the offering is eaten on the third day, it will be contaminated, and I will not accept it. 8If you eat it on the third day, you will answer for the sin of profaning what is holy to the LORD and must be cut off from the community.
9"When you harvest your crops, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. 10It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners who live among you, for I, the LORD, am your God.
11"Do not steal. "Do not cheat one another. "Do not lie.
12"Do not use my name to swear a falsehood and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
13"Do not cheat or rob anyone. "Always pay your hired workers promptly.
14"Show your fear of God by treating the deaf with respect and by not taking advantage of the blind. I am the LORD.
15"Always judge your neighbors fairly, neither favoring the poor nor showing deference to the rich.
16"Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. F42 "Do not try to get ahead at the cost of your neighbor's life, for I am the LORD.
17"Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. "Confront your neighbors directly so you will not be held guilty for their crimes.
18"Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
19"You must obey all my laws. "Do not breed your cattle with other kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of fabric.
20"If a man has sexual intercourse with a slave girl who is committed to become someone else's wife, compensation must be paid. But since she had not been freed at the time, the couple will not be put to death. 21The man, however, must bring a ram as a guilt offering and present it to the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle. F43 22The priest will then make atonement for him before the LORD with the sacrificial ram of the guilt offering, and the man will be forgiven.
23"When you enter the land and plant fruit trees, leave the fruit unharvested for the first three years and consider it forbidden. F44 24In the fourth year the entire crop will be devoted to the LORD as an outburst of praise. 25Finally, in the fifth year you may eat the fruit. In this way, its yield will be increased. I, the LORD, am your God.
26"Never eat meat that has not been drained of its blood. "Do not practice fortune-telling or witchcraft.
27"Do not trim off the hair on your temples or clip the edges of your beards.
28"Never cut your bodies in mourning for the dead or mark your skin with tattoos, for I am the LORD.
29"Do not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be filled with promiscuity and detestable wickedness.
30"Keep my Sabbath days of rest and show reverence toward my sanctuary, for I am the LORD.
31"Do not rely on mediums and psychics, for you will be defiled by them. I, the LORD, am your God.
32"Show your fear of God by standing up in the presence of elderly people and showing respect for the aged. I am the LORD.
33"Do not exploit the foreigners who live in your land. 34They should be treated like everyone else, and you must love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God.
35"Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or volume. 36Your scales and weights must be accurate. Your containers for measuring dry goods or liquids must be accurate. F45 I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37You must be careful to obey all of my laws and regulations, for I am the LORD."
FOOTNOTES:F42: Hebrew Do not act as a merchant toward your own people. F43: Hebrew Tent of Meeting. F44: Hebrew consider it uncircumcised. F45: Hebrew Use an honest ephah [a dry measure] and an honest hin [a liquid measure]. ~ Lena’s Journalin ~
Holy means "set apart", be "set apart" as I am "set apart" says the Lord. "Set apart" for what? For the use of saving the whole world, what else ? :-) I looked up the word "idols", it meant, "nothingness, worthlessness- in the light of eternal treasures. I thought it cool today how this version says- gods of metal, made of natural earth material that seems to last awhile, but it also perishes eventually. I also noted the specific instructions about offering and giving back to the Lord of what He’s given you. It seems to me the point is to, respond quickly, do what you’ve heard by application and practice and don’t allow it to go to waste by storing it up for later on, it becomes useless then. Also when it speaks of the abundance we’ve been given I find it interesting that the Lord tells us not to figure ALL of our increase in to the scope of our own needs, we should be making more than enough that is already figured in for giving to others that may not have the job we do, or are helpless. We work and count every penny of it to meet our needs. It seems in this time their budgets allotted for their offerings and their tithes too. It seems when the farmer figured the crop he did not figure it for himself and his family only. Look at vs 14- many times spiritually people are deaf and blind, how do we treat them? Do we disregard them as being deaf and blind on purpose? Do we ignore them due to their ailment, or judge them for being in the state they are in? Or do we help them see and hear that they’d be freed? Many times spiritual blindness and deafness are spiritual forces set up against someone’s life to kill of faith or the potential for faith, the blindness has to be removed, spiritually, many times by deliverance. Help them see and hear so they can desire and know the way to true freedom. WOW, do not nurse hatred in your heart towards any members of your family? Wow!